Technical Advice

This page is a listing of suggested software and practices that will ensure your Internet experience is fast, safe and secure.

Internet Browsers

Both major browsers have been updated recently. Click the links to go to the web sites that have the updates.

• Mozilla Firefox 3.0 - highly recommended. It uses a tabbed interface and is invulnerable to attacks/installations that use ActiveX and includes a ton of free add-ons that filter ads, show local weather and much more!
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0 - Newly upgraded IE now includes tabs and is more secure. You'll need IE to upgrade your system via www.windowsupdate.com. Some web sites only work well with IE.

Antivirus Software

If you are surfing the net or using e-mail you absolutely must have antivirus software. A good free package is Avast Anti-Virus. They have a home version that's free for personal use. It runs in the background and updates itself automatically with the latest virus information as soon as it's available. I use it and highly recommend it.

If you have any other anti-virus software on your computer and you decide to switch, be sure to uninstall the old software before installing Avast!  You will need to register your copy of the program, even if you use the free version, but they don't pester your or send you spam.

• Read about Avast Antivirus here, download it here.

Antispyware Software

Web sites are constantly trying to install software on your computer; to serve up ads, track your movements on the Internet and generally invade your privacy. Some spyware modifies settings on your computer and can cause problems in Windows. You should use an anti-spyware program to help protect your PC.

Microsoft has a program that is free (at least for now) called Windows Defender. It too automatically updates itself and protects against spyware.

• Read about and download Windows Defender here.

Another good program is Spybot Search and Destroy. The free version lets you scan for and remove spyware; the paid version includes a memory-resident program that always runs and stops spyware before it installs itself. Highly recommended.

• Read about and download Spybot Search and Destroy here.

E-Mail Programs

E-Mail programs are like cars - everyone has their favorite, and for different reasons. Here are some thoughts on three that are very popular right now

• Microsoft Outlook. This is a huge, full-featured program that is part of Microsoft Office. It includes Email, Calendars, Notes, Tasks and Contact lists. If you do a lot of contact management this can be good, but it's expensive (part of Office), big and it can be cumbersome. Some computers and PDAs come with a free version of it, though.
• Microsoft Outlook Express: Free, and included with Internet Explorer. It's simple, fast and does one thing -- e-mail -- very well. You can also configure it to read Newsgroups and to implement rules which help you filter spam, manage your emails and more.
• Windows Mail: This is the free email client included with Windows Vista. It's very much like Outlook Express but with some new features, including spam blocking and phishing protection.
• Mozilla Thunderbird: Also free, and much like Outlook Express, though there are some who say it's much better. Provides spam filters you can configure yourself. Read about here, download it here.
• Microsoft Windows Live Mail: This is an upgrade to Outlook Express that includes a new user interface, spam blocking, phishing prevention and better support for multiple email accounts.

E-Mail Services

E-Mail Services are also available. Sure, you get an e-mail account for free with your Internet Service provider, or you can get a free email account at a number of web sites, including Hotmail or Yahoo, but these accounts are typically targeted by spammers; even if you set up such an account and do nothing with it your inbox get swamped with spam inside of a week.

Here are some other options:

• GMAIL: Provided by Google, this free email service can be accessed via browser or via any POP3 email program (including all those listed above.) It's pretty good at filtering spam, and you get tons of storage - 250 gigabytes! The concept behind GMail is that you can/should save everything -- all your emails -- which you can search through any time. Great for archiving everything you ever get or send!

  New this year at GMail is support for IMAP email. IMAP email keeps all your emails on the Google servers, so you never have to worry about losing your data if you hard drive crashes. It's private, secure, very reliable and incredibly handy if you access your email from more than one PC.
  
  Caveats:

  • The browser version serves up ads based on the text in the email you're currently reading. In my experience they are not at all intrusive.
     
• SpamCop: This costs $30 a year and automatically filters out 99% of all spam. SpamCop also gives you the option of reviewing held mail and forwarding/whitelisting that which you want to get. You also have the option of having the SpamCop website analyze each spam and send a report/complaint to the ISP (Internet service provider) where the spam came from. You can opt to have your e-mail address end in either @spamcop.net or @cesmail.net.
  
  Caveats:
  • It's $30 a year per account. I personally think that's a small price to pay, especially if you have other family members who are starting to use e-mail. Some spam can be pretty vile.
  • You have to be aware when your held e-mail notice arrives - you have to check it to ensure you don't filter out an e-mail you want.
  • It can also be a bit tricky adding an email address to your whitelist if you're not technical.

Contact/Schedule Management

Plaxo is a free service that synchronizes my contacts and calendar with an online cache using a free software package you install on your computer. You can update your Outlook Calendar or Address book at work and the changes are automatically synced to the Plaxo web site. When you turn on your home computer, the changes are then synced to your home software.

Plaxo software works with...

• Microsoft Outlook / Outlook Express
• Windows Mail
• GMail
• Yahoo Mail
• MAC OS X
• MSN Hotmail / Windows Live
• Windows Mobile

The service is free, with additional options available for a monthly fee.

Parental Controls

It is important to monitor your child's use of the Internet and to filter out inappropriate content. There are a large number of programs available which allow you to do this.

Here are some informational links:

• Should Parents Become Big Brother?
• Top Picks: Parental Filtering Software

Fraud, Scams and Abuse

I could list a lot of sites, here, but it's easier to tell you to Google it. Click here for a Google Search on "Internet Fraud." You find enough reading for hours.

Urban Legends and Chain Letters

These bug me 'cause they're often wrong and frequently STUPID. (Sorry, kids, I shouldn't use that word, but they are.) Whenever you get an email from someone that purports to tell you something amazing but true, you can check the facts for yourself on Snopes.com. This is a comprehensive database listing all kinds of interesting things that are often bogus. Entertaining reading if nothing else.

Just for the record:

• Bill Gates will not pay you for each e-mail you send
• For every forwarded copy of an e-mail received, the American Cancer Society will NOT donate three cents to cancer research.
• Religious symbols and references abound in U.S. capital buildings and the words of America's founders. Kinda.

See the Top 25 List of Urban Legends here. Some are true! Always good reading.

If you have questions about any of the above, email the Webmaster. Judiciously, please.

- Barry